With significant advancements in the IT industry, brands have started adopting the latest marketing trends to grow their business using the power of technology. A few decades back, customers were used to shopping in-store. But this is not a common trend these days.
Nowadays, everyone has a tight, hectic schedule, and most people don’t have enough time to visit stores or outlets to buy their favorite products. This is where online shopping comes in handy. Millions of businesses around the world have started providing their services and products to the digital community.
At the same time, customers feel comfortable when placing their orders from home or the workplace and getting them delivered to their doorstep. Whenever we talk about online shopping, there is nothing better for businesses than having a professional and elegant website to attract their audience.
With the increasing demand for websites, the demand for web developers is also increasing worldwide, including in the United States. This is why thousands of college students and graduates in the US plan to enroll in web development degrees and search for earning potential at the same time. This article presents a comprehensive discussion on a web developer salary in Chicago.
The Top 6 Factors Affecting the Salary of a Web Developer
It doesn’t matter if different developers work in the same or different organizations; they may have different annual incomes. It all depends on a variety of factors, as listed below.
1. Education
It is a fact that you don’t necessarily need a professional web development degree to become a website developer. You can jump into this field even with a certificate, short course, or diploma. But education matters, of course.
Reputed employers always look for degree holders and set this as a major requirement of the vacant position. If you want to establish a promising career and looking forward to serving well-known IT organizations, make sure you enroll yourself in a web development degree. The salaries of degree holders are definitely higher than those who don’t earn professional degrees.
2. Certifications
Well, certificates are known for polishing your existing skill sets. They are a great source to work with extremely professional and trained developers with years of experience in the local and global industry. Do you want to enhance your skills, there is nothing better than doing relevant certifications. You can demand higher pay based on your certificates.
3. Additional Skills
Being a web developer, if you have some additional skills other than development, your demand will undoubtedly be high in the industry compared to the one who only has the necessary skills. So, develop a habit of learning some additional skills in parallel. It will convince employers to raise your salary.
4. Experience
It is, without a doubt, a king. Experience is something that helps a developer keep his or her head up in the competition. After joining your employer, your focus must be getting as much experience as possible under the supervision of senior developers who have been serving this industry for years. More experience means a higher salary.
5. Job Location
It is another leading parameter that directly impacts your pay scale. Some states in the US offer higher salaries, whereas others offer close to the national average. So, changing your job location may result in a significant difference in your yearly income.
6. Company Standards
Different companies set different SOPs. So, you can’t expect the same pay scale from different setups. Some companies pay the highest, most offer national average salaries, and some provide their developers with even lower than the national average.
Web Developer Salary in Chicago
Hundreds of platforms conduct detailed surveys to gather reliable information about the yearly, monthly, weekly, and hourly income of website developers. Keeping their credibility in mind, we have selected a few from the top. Let’s get into the detailed specifics.
You must have heard of indeed.com. In case you don’t know, it is a well-known website where you can see thousands of employment opportunities from all domains and apply for them instantly. According to this platform, the web developer’s salary in Chicago is $84,461 per year, as shown below. It equals $34.25 per hour, $1545 per week, and $5980 per month, respectively. The pay scale starts from $54,959 and goes high up to $129,801.
Glassdoor.com is another leading platform that presents great information about the salary structures of website developers working in the US and worldwide. According to the survey of this site, the total annual salary of web developers in Chicago is $90,824, as shown below. It covers the base pay of $85,117 and an additional pay of $5,706 per year. Most skilled developers make between $72,000 and $114,000; however, the complete pay scale varies between $59,000 and $141,000.
Similarly, payscale.com says the average base annual web developer salary is $68,329. The base salary varies between $46,000 and $90,000. However, yearly bonuses are also part of the total salary, as shown below.
When exploring salary.com for salary structures of website developers in Chicago, we have found that these professionals make an average yearly income of $79,904 as of January 2023. The overall figure lies between $61,400 and $84,902 per year.
Read more: Web Developer Salary in California
Entry-Level Web Developer Salary
The developers who join the industry for the first time get low salaries compared to seniors because they have to learn a lot about what is happening out there in the market. According to indeed.com, an entry-level web developer’s salary in Chicago is $59,439 per year, as shown below. It is equal to making $18.09 per hour, $1088 per week, and $4208 per month, respectively. The overall annual salary scale ranges between $53,710 and $65,769.
The stats on ziprecruiter.com are a bit different. This site states that the entry-level web developer’s salary in Chicago is $62,128, as shown below. It equals $5177 monthly, $1194 weekly, and $29.87 hourly. The lowest yearly salary a junior web developer can get in this city is $27,219, whereas the highest pay is $123,256.
Glassdoor.com presents different results compared to indeed.com and ziprecruiter.com. As per the analysis of this platform, the total pay of a website developer in Chicago is $82,732, which covers the base pay ($76,972) and the additional pay ($5,760). The complete annual salary scale lies between $56,000 and $124,000. However, most professionals make between $67,000 and $102,000 per year.
Learn more: Junior Web Developer Salary in the United States
Senior
Comparably.com is one more trusted website known for presenting extremely valuable data regarding the salary structures of different professionals, including website developers. As far as the senior web developer salary in Chicago is concerned, it is $82,236, according to this platform.
Similarly, glassdoor.com says that senior web developers can make $137,513 a year in Chicago, as shown below. It is the total salary that covers both the base and additional pay. The average base pay is $115,259, and the average additional pay is $22,253. Most professionals earn between $111,000 and $172,000, whereas the whole scale ranges between $92,000 and $210,000.
According to salary.com, the average yearly earning potential of experienced website developers working in Chicago is $112,003 as of January 2023. They can make as high as $126,481 and as low as $99,136 per year.
Learn more: Senior Web Developer Salary in the United States
Front-End Web Developer Salary in Chicago
Front-end developers are responsible for taking the user experience to the next level by creating appealing and highly interactive website designs. As far as the salary of these professionals in Chicago is concerned, they make an average yearly income of $105,840, according to indeed.com. It becomes $7494 monthly, $1937 weekly, and $45.32 hourly. The overall annual salary varies between $67,814 and $165,190, as shown below.
Let’s discuss what glassdoor.com has to say about the earning potential of front-end web developers. When exploring this site, we have seen that you can earn $93,304 per year in Chicago as a front end website developer. This amount is a combination of both the base pay and the additional pay. The base pay is $86,582, and the additional pay is $6,722 per year. A huge number of front-end developers make between $74,000 and $118,000 per year, whereas the overall salaries vary between $60,000 and $146,000.
According to salary.com, the average front-end web developer salary in Chicago is $125,770 per year as of January 2023. If we talk about the lowest and the highest pay, it is $112,792 and $137,225 per year, respectively.
As per the survey conducted by builtinchicago.com, the average front end web developer salary is $108,192, as shown below. The additional yearly pay is $8,275, so the total salary becomes $116,467 per year. The lowest and the highest earnings are $80,000 and $165,000 per year.
Read more: Interactive Front End Web Development: JavaScript and JQuery
Back-End Web Developer Salary
The back-end developers are responsible for creating custom code-based programs to control everything happening on the back side of a running website. This job is more complex than front-end development, so the salary for this role is a bit high. According to indeed.com, the average back end developer salary in Chicago is $158,382 per year. The monthly, weekly, and hourly compensations are $11214, $2898, and $67.83, respectively. The yearly income varies between $108,672 and $230,829.
According to glassdoor.com, the back-end website developers make an average of $93,294 per year in Chicago, as shown below. This is the total pay that covers the base pay ($87,089) and an additional bonus ($6,205). A great number of back end developers earn between $73,000 and $120,000 per year, whereas the overall scale ranges between $58,000 and $151,000.
At the same time, salary.com says that back-end developers make $154,956 a year in Chicago city as of January 2023. The lowest and the highest pay this city offers are $140,706 and $170,648 per year.
Read more: Web Developer Salary in Florida
Full Stack Web Developer Salary in Chicago
Full stack developers possess both front-end and back-end development skills. This is why they have always been in high demand. According to the survey published on indeed.com, the average base salary of full-stack developers in Chicago is $126,995, as shown below. It is equal to making $8,991 per month, $2,324 per week, and $54.39 per hour, respectively. The complete annual pay scale ranges between $86,480 and $186,490.
The glassdoor.com says that full-stack developers working in Chicago city make $98,641 annually. It covers the base pay of $91,341 and the additional pay of $7,299, as shown below. The overall salary scale lies between $63,000 and $156,000; however, most full-stack developers earn from $78,000 to $126,000.
According to a study published on ziprecruiter.com, the yearly average income of full-stack web developers in Chicago is $85,850. The hourly, weekly, and monthly incomes are $41.27, $1650, and $7154, respectively. The lowest salary for these professionals is $36,463, and the highest pay is $160,745.
Salary.com claims that the average annual income of full-stack web developers in Chicago is $106,353. The minimum salary for these professionals with decent experience is $90,619, and it goes up to $120,002.
Learn more: Full Stack Web Developer Salary in Texas
Final Words
Well, the average web developer salary in Chicago is $84,461, according to indeed.com. It may vary from one developer to the next. A couple of factors (including but not limited to experience, certificates, skills, and job location) affect the pay scale of web developers working in Chicago or anywhere else throughout the world. The above discussion has presented the earning potential of junior, senior, front-end, back-end, and full-stack web developers. Make sure you go through the above discussion to get into the detailed specifics of this subject.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Is web development a good career option?
A: Yes, it is. If you get attracted to this industry and have a passion for website development, you must choose it as your professional career. Hundreds of doors get opened with the time to explore amazing opportunities.
Q: Can I start my own business as a web developer?
A: Yes, you can. All you need is to gather enough experience by working in different reputed organizations and improving your communication skills. Once you are good at both, you will be able to get good clients and earn good revenues.
Q: Should I choose front-end or back-end technology to work on?A: Well, it all depends on your interest. If you are good at creating appealing designs, you should choose front-end web development as your major skill. But if you like creating programs with custom codes, back-end development will suit your interest the most. This is how every website developer chooses his or her area of interest.
